"I told him that (Rays vice president) Andrew (Friedman) and I spoke about it and I was able to tell him that we're very, very pleased with what he's doing, we can see him continuing to get better with us, to not be worried about anything happening over the next day,'' Maddon said, per the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin. "That's what I got from Andrew.''

Oakland and Tampa Bay have until Tuesday afternoon to complete a trade after the A's made a claim last week. The Rays can also let Escobar go without compensation, but it appears the Rays will pull Escobar off waivers instead.

Escobar, 31, is signed through 2016 with an option for 2017, so he could be a long-term replacement for free-agent-to-be Jed Lowrie in Oakland. Given the A's aggressiveness in making trades, however, there's no guarantee he would stay in Oakland for the length of the deal.